


Finding those who truly Care for You.

by AiviloQuillMaster



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Storyshift (Undertale), Because no one else was writing it, Gen, How SS!Chara was adopted, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-07-16 02:52:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16076834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AiviloQuillMaster/pseuds/AiviloQuillMaster
Summary: My version of how Chara from Storyshift found themselves in the loving care of the Dreemurrs. A lot happens before they open up and comes into their own. But that's okay, because love doesn't come at a cost down here.





	1. Chapter 1: Into the Underground

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first piece of fanfic I'm posting online, and I wrote it because no one else was bothering with this specific point in the Storyshift Fandom, and that bothered me. So I write it myself, hope you all enjoy, feedback would be much appreciated and enjoy.

     Twilight was beginning to vanish over their head, but the last thing that was on their mind was the oncoming starlight. Their entire body, the parts that weren't aching or numb, were alight with pain. It was all they could do to keep running away, the distant sounds of the mob pushing them onward despite their heaving breath and vanishing light. A primal instinct kept them going, but they knew it wouldn’t last forever. They knew where they were running to, the only hope left in their SOUL was that even the mindless mob wouldn't follow them up the cursed mountain.

     By the time the last remaining rays of sunlight had vanished completely from the sky, they were near the top of the mountain, and they felt as though they were dying. ‘Does it matter anymore?’ They thought in despair ‘I can never go back, I’m NOT one of them.’ They slowed, their legs shaking and their energy draining from them fast. They couldn’t hear the mob, they couldn’t hear anything except their labored breaths. Their foot hit something solid, and their balance was lost from the surprise. They held out their arms into the darkness to stop their fall…. ...And plummeted into the mountain itself.

     Wind cut across their body, they were falling so fast. They knew at once that when they hit the ground, they would die. But they felt their SOUL pulse with a power they didn’t know they had, it sent a burning feeling that flowed through their veins.’I don’t want to die.’ Everything seemed to happen in an instant, They saw a light where they were falling to. They willed their forbidden magic to their hands, intent on doing something, anything that could save them. Then an unfamiliar power, distantly reminding them of the magic in their own hands. They felt something clasp around their SOUL, and mere feet from the ground beneath them, they stopped falling.

     “Ah!” Everything stopped, they felt pinned just above the ground, and suddenly felt their blood go cold. Exhaustion from their flight up Mt. Ebott, the fall into it, their desperation, and now they felt everything catch up to them at once. Darkness crept at the corners of their vision, it was becoming hard to keep they eyes open, even if they couldn’t see a thing around them with any semblance of clarity. They felt it at once, the strange magic gripping their SOUL in place, it started to lower them closer to the ground. Through the haze of pain and exhaustion, they wondered who was doing it, who was using magic? The sharp cry of a woman was the last thing that really registered before the magic vanished from their SOUL, and they fell fully to the ground and into blissful unconsciousness.


	2. Mother's Instincts Ignite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we pick up where we left off when Chara passed out. They are in good hands now, but a horribly injured child falling into a cursed mountain, caught by a denizen who would have an interest in having you dead, and not remaining conscious to figure out or explain what the heck was going on in far from a good situation overall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter is going to rotate between different POV's each chapter, so here we take a look through the eyes of everyone's favorite Goat Mom.  
> Also sorry if these chapters seem kinda small, I want to show these little moments that lead up to Chara being undeniably considered a Dreemurr and I just really like head hopping. I might try to flesh out the later chapters to have a bit more meat, but right now I'm just trying to set things up.

She wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary that night, she didn’t think that anything unusual would happen at all. As Captain of the Royal Guard, Toriel was granted many liberties when it came to her King. One such liberty was being allowed to walk in on him from time to time to make sure he didn’t forget to eat a decent meal more than once a week, or to help him keep his personal spaces from going from messy to hazardous.  


Part of it may be how long she had served under the Royal Family, she had known King Sans since before he was crowned. It may have also been in part to her maternal instincts kicking in whenever they were in private, he really did behave like a lazy teenager more often than he should in her eyes. So when she was making her way through the maze like corridors that made up most of New Home, she never once expected to walk into one of the overarching bridges of the city to see what she saw.  


King Sans, his left eye aglow with magic, hand outstretched towards a human above them. A battered, weakened, Child pinned above with blue magic.  


She cried out in utter shock, her eyes widened at the sight. King Sans startled at her cry, and his magic dissipated at once. The human child fell to the ground limp, like a puppet without any strings or supports. He turned to her, eyelights bright as he began speaking. “Toriel, what are you doing here?”  


She couldn’t find her words, her throat tightened as she looked towards the collapsed child just a few yards away from her. They looked awful, she knew what a human child was supposed to look like, and they had many things that she knew weren’t supposed to be there. The only thing that let her know that they weren’t dead was the fact that their SOUL hadn’t left their body.  


Sans spoke up again “Tori-”  


She erupted “What the hell happened! That child looks half dead!” He flinched, she rarely yelled, her self control was well renowned in the Underground. She was a Boss Monster, her natural power far outclassed most of the citizens who lived in their Kingdom, she had to control her power as well as her temper. But none of that mattered to her at all in that moment, she was furious and she would stay that way. Her mind racing in a hundred directions all at once, she had to do something, she chose a single thought and took action. In three quick strides she was kneeling next to the human child and lifted them into her arms, careful of their many injuries and at once noticed their light weight.  


She turned to leave, sparing no glance to her King nearby. “Toriel-” whatever he wanted to say never had a chance to be spoken.  


“I am taking them home with me. Do not rty stop me.” She didn’t care that she was overstepping her boundaries, that she was ordering her King away, that what she was about to do was borderline treason. All that mattered in her mind was the broken child in her arms, they needed help and she’d be damned if she let them die on her watch. She left the Castle without any hassle, no one was even around to stopped her. She stepped into the Riverperson’s ferry and said “To Waterfall.”


	3. Late Night Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone's favorite Goat Bro wakes up to a late night emergency, and last chapters adrenaline rush has begun to wear down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you guys think in the comments.  
> Also, next chapter is where things really get moving, i'm looking forward to then.

It was really late, almost midnight, when Asriel woke up to a banging door across the hall. He heard stuff happening, Mom’s voice saying stuff but not understanding the words. An opening door, then Dad said something only to stop suddenly. He knew all of that stuff was happening, but he was tucked in bed wishing he was still asleep. But he also wanted to know what exactly was going on, and he already woke up from it.  


He heard his parents walking towards his part of the hall, talking in whispers so tense it wasn’t too hard to hear from his bed.  
“-and I knew I had to help, just look at them.” “I understand Tori, let’s go downstairs and I-” They walked right passed his door as he got out of his bed. Now he was awake and just buzzing with curiosity. His parents here going downstairs and they sounded really worried about something, what could it be?  


His Mom was Captain of the Royal Guard, his Dad was the Royal Scientist, they never ever sounded worried like that before. Not even when they talked about humans. Asriel left his bedroom quietly, looking out to the hall and seeing the downstairs lights were on. He moved quick and quiet, just like his mom taught him in FIGHT practice. He looked down the stairwell and say his parents hovering over something on the couch. He couldn’t see what it was because Mom was blocking his line of sight, but now he could hear them again.  


“They’re wounded quite badly, it’s honestly a wonder that they are still holding on so strongly.” That was Dad, Asriel saw him pull one of his hands back, still glowing a soft green with healing Magic.  


“Never have I once thought to wonder about the ones from before, never even tried to give them a face or anything. Is this what we are?” Mom sounded like she had been crying, her voice wavered and cracked. The sound of it made Asriel’s SOUL ache.  


He stepped closer to the light “Mom?” Once he made his presence known, they both turned to face him. That’s when Asriel noticed what was on the couch. Someone he had never seen before, they didn’t look like any monster he had ever seen before. And they were being treated with Dad’s healing kit.  


“Asriel, what are you doing awake?” His mom looked at him with wide eyes, and he could see that she had been crying. “I heard you guys earlier and wanted to know what happened. Why were you crying?” She looked surprised, touching her eyes like she hadn’t realized she had been doing it at all.  


He looked back to the person on their couch, he was pretty sure they were hurt, probably really bad too. Mom walked over to him, then pulled him into a tight hug. Asriel was really starting to wonder, “What’s going on?”  


His mom pulled back and looked him up and down, then stood up. “Were going to the kitchen Gorey, let me know if anything changes. I-I need to talk with Asriel about this.” Dad nodded and Asriel was led away from the living room and into the kitchen. He and Mom took their normal seats at the table, and just kinda sat their for a few long, tense minutes.  


Asriel fidgeted in his seat, he broke the silence first “So.. who’s Dad treating on the couch, are they gonna be okay?” Mom looked at him strangely, and then she sighed “They are, very badly hurt, and I’m not sure what can be done to help them.” They were both quiet for a moment, then she started talking again “Asriel, do you know, what they are right?”  


He was taken aback for a second, before slowly answering “I’m… not sure? They don’t look like anyone I’d ever seen before.”  
Mom nodded, then slowly said, “They are... two things that, for the moment, matter.” He nodded, and she continued “The first thing they are a child, perhaps no older than you are.” Asriel paused, internally wondering why Mom sounded so, so worried just telling him that they were a kid. Then he felt really bad when he realized “Wait, they’re only a kid? You said they were hurt really really bad. How did they get that hurt?”  


Mom lowered her head, and she quietly said “I’m not sure how exactly but it’s possibly because they are also human.” Asriel’s head stopped working for way too long after he heard that. The person who was really badly hurt, who Dad was currently trying to heal and Mom was so worried about, was a human? Humans were the terrible creatures who trapped them Underground forever, who killed monsters for no good reason, who’s SOULs they all needed to be free.  


Mom took a deep breath and started saying “I know what the humans have done to us is wrong, and I am perfectly aware that we need their SOULs to undo the crimes done against us. But when I saw that child, injured the way they are now.” She was starting to cry again, her tears catching on her white fur as her voice cracked “I don’t see a faceless villain in them, they aren’t-they don’t-” She stopped trying to talk there, her face buried now in her arms as she sobbed. Asriel felt his own throat close up. Without a second though he went to his Mom’s side and tried to hug her. She picked him up right away and hugged back, holding him like she was scared of letting go.  


He wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, but he didn’t like to see his Mom so upset and all he wanted to do was make her sadness go away. After a long while, when she stopped sobbing and her arms loosened around her, she whispered “I’m not sure what happens next, but I have to make sure they don’t get hurt like that again. Okay Asriel?”  


He felt tired, but as his eyes closed he told her “Alright Mom, I’ll do anything I can too.” Then he felt himself fall back asleep in her arms.


	4. An Unexpectedly Sweet Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so the Child wakes up, and has no idea where they are or why everything is so nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked writing this one, specifically the moments that I can unfortunately relate to.

They returned to awareness slowly, only barely registering their various aching parts. They were so warm, and they didn’t want to wake up just yet. They tugged the blanket over them closer and tried to drift off again. Only then they realized something was wrong, they never had a blanket this soft before.

Memories flooded back to them, the accident, the mob, the run, the fall. They opened their eyes in a blind panic and tried to dart up, though the attempt aggravated the collections of bruises that peppered their chest and abdomen. They hissed through their teeth and waited for the pain to subside, then took a look around.

They were on a couch inside someone’s living room, most the lights were off save one in the far corner. It looked like any normal house, but no one from the village would ever let them inside their homes. Taking stock of themselves, they found that the worst of their injuries had vanished, and they had a couple star patterned band-aids covering their arms and legs.

They reviewed in their head what had happened before the passed out, they had fallen into the mountain hadn’t they? Why were they laying in a normal looking house? Maybe they hadn’t fallen after all.

They still felt an unpleasant heaviness in their chest, they didn’t belong here, they didn’t  _ Belong.  _ Slowly, as to not cause too much pain, they got off the couch and walked to the next room.

It was clearly a kitchen, all the necessary appliances in place and very well kept too. On the counter, clearly placed in plain view, was a lone slice of pie with a note. They blinked, then rubbed their eyes. Nope, pie was still there.

Curiosity thoroughly peaked, they read the note next to it:

_ Hello, if you are reading this, then please do not hesitate to help yourself to this pie. It’s Butterscotch-Cinnamon pie to be exact, I recommend that you have some. It should help you feel better, or even heal faster. I assure you that it tastes good, I get many requests to make it quite often. Well, regardless, please make sure to rest as well, you were hurt very badly. I hope you feel better young one. _

_ -Toriel D. _

They had to reread the note three times before they believed it, this pie was left for them. Someone had saved them, either from the mob or the mountain. And they had even left them food. They felt emotions try to wash away the weariness and doubt, then promptly shoved it back.

_ ‘They won’t keep caring.’  _ The thought was unpropted, but painfully true _ ‘One look at my eyes and people reject me, not to mention my powers’  _ Outcast was the kindest word used to describe them, they didn’t want to think of all the other things they had been called.

They should just leave, not bother this person with their problems and just… disappear. But then they saw the pie again and realized just how hungry they were, and it did look good. They internally wrestled with themself on whether or not to eat the pie now or just leave outright. Leaving was by far the best option, they wouldn’t cause any more problems for this Toriel person and they wouldn’t have wasted food on them, it would be for the best.

In the end though, they went looking for a fork to eat it with, they were hungry and the pie looked extremely appetizing. They found the silverware right next to a few large knives. And, without any fully rational reason, they took one out with the fork. 

One bite into the pie, and they practically swooned the second it hit their tongue. It was so sweet and creamy with a wonderful spicy taste. An unfamiliar sensation rushed through their body as they kept eating, perhaps they were already getting a sugar rush. It was gone in only a minute, and they wished there was more. Briefly they toyed with the idea of looking for more in the fridge, but they disregarded that one right away, taking one was more than enough. Any more and they would have abused this person’s goodwill, they should leave before they did anything else here.

They heard footsteps behind them and froze. Someone was coming, they froze in place, mind racing.

_‘It’s probably just this Toriel person’_ they rationalized _‘I’ll just stay put and excuse myself when they come in.’_ They turned away from the counter and towards the doorless opening. _‘I hope they don’t notice my eyes.’_ Everyone always did though, so they weren’t going to hold their breath over that foolish wish. It wasn’t totally dark anymore, there was light coming in from the windows now, it must almost be morning. Still, they stared ahead and braced themselves for what they expected to come next.

What they expected was not what they got, because what came into the kitchen wasn’t anything they had ever seen before. It looked like some sort of goat-thing, white fur covering their body where they weren’t covered with...pajamas? They had no idea what they were seeing at first, but when it locked eyes with them reality hit them like a brick.

They did fall into the mountain, they were inside the Mountain of Monsters, that goat thing was a monster. The monster stared at them for a while before it spoke. “Howdy!”

_ ‘What.’  _ They were hunted by a murderous mob, fell into a cursed mountain, narrowly avoided certain death, and currently facing an actual Monster. And they were also inside a cozy house, just had the best pie they ever tasted, and said monster just gave them a pleasant greeting. They were completely lost. How the heck are they supposed to react? 

“It’s good to see your doing better, my Mom was really worried about you last night. She said you were hurt really bad.” This monster’s mother… was worried about them? What? “But you look like you’re doing way better, so that’s a good thing.” Why was it being so nice to them? Monsters weren’t supposed to be nice.

“...So how are you feeling human?” They were confused, they were also sore and nervous and completely out of their depth. But, it was actually kinda hard to be afraid of something that was  so nice and… cute.

“I-” they paused, trying to find the right words. The monster stood there, and nodded for them to finish “I’m good.” The monster’s face lit up, it’s eyes seemed to shine. “That’s great! Mom’s gonna be happy to hear that.” One of it’s foofy ears perked up a bit.  _ ‘Oh god, how is a monster so adorable?’  _ “My parents are awake, come meet them in the living room!” Before they knew it the monster was coming towards than really fast. They acted on instinct and sudden fear.

They reached behind them for the knife and shouted “Don’t touch me!”

Both hands clasp around the knife’s hilt, pointed directly towards the frozen monster. They felt their eyes were open wide, and the monster’s eyes had widened as well, and the shine that they had was gone.  _ Afraid. _ Heavy footfalls pounded their way, and then they saw who the monster meant when it said “Parents.”

They trembled, the other monsters were  _ huge _ , easily three times their size in both height and mass. The bigger one even had a wicked set of horns on it’s head, they didn't stand a chance. They felt themselves begin to tremble, their SOUL pulsed in a horrible anxiety.  _ Hopeless. _ They tried to breathe, why couldn’t they breathe? Their eyes were still open, why couldn’t they see clearly anymore? They didn’t notice it when their hands shook so bad they dropped the knife, or when their legs trembled so violently the collapsed to the floor.  _ Despair. _ Coherent thought had stopped, all that they felt was fear and kept expecting something to hit them, something to cut or pierce or bash against them and kill them and-

There was a pressure on their shoulders, someone say talking above them. They didn’t know what was going on, they wanted to know. They reached into their pulsating SOUL, letting the burning power sealed deep inside them flood through them.  _ The memory of the sweetest treat melting on your tongue. _ They were thrush back into sharp awareness, the hands on their shoulders came off like they had been burned. It was one of the adult monsters, the one with much smaller horns. It, she they realised with a start, looked at them with an expression they couldn’t place. Then she spoke again “We do not want to hurt you child, please believe me. You are perfectly safe here.”

The feeling from their SOUL had given them strength, and enough clarity of thought to ask “Why should I believe that?” They hadn’t been safe, actually safe, in a long time.  _ Warmth from a well made quilt resting over your body. _ She could kill them easily, without having to try. And why wouldn’t she anyways? She was a Monster, she owed them nothing and probably had more reasons to want them dead than alive if the legends are really true. And considering that monsters exist at all, they probably were.

She took a breath, and calmly explained “Because you are a scared and injured child, nothing anyone says to me will make me believe you deserve to hurt the way you were. You have every reason right now to be fearful and mistrustful, but I promise you none of us want to hurt you. I want to help you, and if you let me I will.” They looked at her, really looked at her. Try as they might, they couldn’t find any hint of deceit, any trace of actual malice that they were so sure everyone had inside them. And they couldn’t believe it when they realised they actually trusted her.  _ Kind words written down just for you to see. _ They hadn’t trusted anyone for as long as they could remember, so why did this monster set them so at ease after just a few minutes?

They felt tears roll down their cheeks, then they realised they had been holding their breath. The power that they had called to focus themself had died down, and then the true floodgates opened.

They started balling their eyes out against her shoulder. “I was so scared.” they didn’t know why they cried that, or why they continued to say similar things the entire time. They were sorry, they didn’t know what to think anymore, and it all felt so good. Every single repressed feeling they had shoved away over the course of years came pouring out on the soft shoulder of a perfect stranger, and a monster to boot. By the time they had run out of tears all three of the monsters were beside them.  _ A cozy home that you were welcomed into without question or judgment. _ They looked at the smaller one, a hesitant smile on its, his, face and suddenly they felt truly safe.

They looked at all three of them once they stopped crying, they felt drained and tired and relaxed.  _ People whose first desire was to help you. _

“Sorry. Let me introduce myself. I am Chara.”

 

_ Fills you with DETERMINATION. _


	5. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions are over, it has been a few days since Chara fell and they are... adjusting. Toriel is concerned, but she has a lot to deal with so she decided to take things slow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Deltarune now exists, I love it. No fic ideas in the work, I wanna finish this anyways.*  
> Let me know what you all think in the comments, I love feedback and would happily answer any questions that pop up.

It had been a few days since Chara had fallen into the underground, and despite their rocky introduction, they began to settle in the Dreemurr household. Once they had calmed down from their panic attack, they had sorted a few thing out between the four of them. They were currently admiring the flowerbeds that Asgore had growing besides their home, gardening being his chief hobby and his personal pride. They remained in her line of sight as requested, she wanted to keep an eye on them while she gave Asriel his training. 

“Ready when you are Mom.” He has practically bouncing with excitement. She smiled, Asriel was simply the sweetest child alive, and was growing up entirely too quickly for her liking.

“Alright, let us begin. Use you stars and try to hit me, don’t hold back my child.” He frowned slight for a moment before gathering his magic to attack. They had talked about the full use of his powers for a long time now, Asriel didn’t want to hurt her, and she had to remind him that she could handle anything he sent her way. He was getting much stronger, but still not enough that he actually could do any significant harm.

Soon enough, brightly colored stars were shooting her way, she dodged each one as it came her way, and even when they came at her from behind. She could tell his control was getting tighter, his attacks more efficient. Before he was so concerned with hurting her that he often missed on purpose or kept his attack patterns too obvious to be challenging. Now she could see him holding his own in a FIGHT.

“Excellent work so far my child.” His attack ended and he beamed “Really?” She would never tire of that face, it made her SOUL swell with joy and pride. “Yes, now it is my turn.” Without any further warning, she launched into her own attack, white fire spiraling around him as he carefully evaded her magic, though not all of it. She always kept her magic on a strict leash during training, she knew how much she needed to use to make the lesson effective and no more. He only had a few scorch marks on his practice outfit by the end of her turn. They took a few more turns, Asriel’s Star attacks making gradual improvements, making it a bit harder for her to dodge, while her attacks had a harder time actually hitting him as he got faster.

She was dodging another round of stars from Asriel when she saw something move just beyond their training area. Chara was no longer looking at the flowers, they were looking at them with an expression of open awe. The distraction was enough to make her slip, one of Asriel’s stars struck her on her shoulder. His turn ended and they both looked at eachother, realizing what had just happened. “I, DID IT!” 

He jumped up and down, pumping his fists in unbridled excitement. “I finally did it, I hit you all on my own.”

His happiness was contagious, Toriel found herself grinning ear to ear. She could brush it aside by telling him she had been distracted, but that was her own fault really. The last thing she wanted to do was discourage him, this was his victory.

“Congratulations my child, you truly have improved a great deal.” She praised him, meaning every word she said. He ran up to her and tackled her into a hug, she was happy to return the gesture. She turned back towards Chara, who was now trying to pretend they weren't looking at them, but it was still obvious that they were. “So what do you think Chara?” They looked at her, a faint red glow on their cheeks betraying embarrassment. Asriel realized what she had said and turned to the human as well. “You were watching us? What do you think, was it cool or what?”

They looked at Asriel, the red in their cheeks getting a little brighter. They mumbled “It was, really, amazing actually.” Asriel might have said something else, but then Chara asked “That stuff, was monster magic right?”

Toriel gave them a patient smile, they must not be overly familiar with magic. Humans who could use magic were rare before the War, and without being around monsters it really wasn't too surprising they didn’t know too much about it. “Yes, we were practicing our control and abilities with magic just now. For us monsters, using magic is as natural as walking or talking.” Perhaps they should sit down with them about how monsters worked, they may need to know how life Underground was if they didn’t know much about magic.

Asriel walked over to the human, making sure they didn’t get any closer than they had asked him to a few days ago. “Can humans, uhh, not use magic?” Chara looked troubled by the question, they didn’t look at either of them when they answered “Humans aren’t, supposed to use magic.”

That… wasn’t quite true. Human mages were rare, true, but they were common enough for someone Chara’s age to be aware of.

“Actually,” She started, both children looking at her now. “Humans with the power to use magic of their own wasn’t unheard of before the War. They were quite rare, true. But they existed, and they could be just as strong as some monster if they worked at it hard enough. They were called Mages.”

Asriel looked interested, Chara looked… like they were thinking about something troubling, their eyes darting downwards. Their voice was hesitant as they asked “So it is not, unnatural?” Toriel paused, not expecting a question like that, taking note of it for a later discussion with them. “No, if a human can use magic on their own, it would be perfectly natural for them. It is not that different than being born with an unusual talent.”

Their mouth moved in a silent “Oh.” Toriel had noticed many small things about the human child the past few days. Things that, more often than not, concerned her. But Chara was nervous and apprehensive around them when confronted, she was more concerned with making sure they were perfectly comfortable around them all before bringing up anything that would upset them.

“Alright, that settled,” She waved Asriel back to her, “We still have to wrap up training for the day. Time for your sabers Asriel.” His face lit up and turned to Chara “If you thought what we were doing before was awesome, you’re really gonna like what’s next.”

He came back to position and gathered his magic in his hands, his Chaos Sabers materializing in each. Chara’s eyes widened on the sidelines. They probably weren’t going to be looking anywhere else for a while. She smiled herself, summoning her staff and then continued the lesson.


	6. A Friendly Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel and Chara were having a friendly conversation, and then it became this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real talk, I have very little idea where the story is going to go next chapter, I also haven't really finished next chapter either. This Chapter talks about an upcoming story event that is only loosely plotted out and while I hope to finish it by next week, I also don't know if it will. I have no viable excuse but please keep this in mind if I don't end up updating next week. And really, I would love any and all feedback from all you amazing readers.

After his training session with Mom, he and Chara went back to the dining room and started working on a puzzle. Apparently, puzzles on the surface were really different than puzzles in the Underground. So they ended up talking about how puzzles Underground are like, a subject Asriel felt he is an expert in. Chara usually let him do the talking, they sometimes asked him stuff while he was explaining. The word “Puzzle” on the surface turns out only be loosely related to the Underground meaning.

But whenever he asked Chara about the surface, they got really quiet and tried to pretend he didn’t ask. It was really weird, but he let it go every time, it felt really awkward when they did that. So they just kept talking about puzzles, and the ideas he had for puzzles in Snowdin woods.

“Snowdin Woods are really big, and the path from the edge of it to the town is only really has a couple sentry stations, I thought it would be a great place to put a bunch of puzzles.” Asriel moved around some paper drawings of his ideas while he talked. 

“Woods? Underground? With trees and bushes right?” Chara asked, looking at him with a critical gaze.

“Yeah, Snowdin is covered in big trees, some people say that a few of them reach all the way up to ceiling.”

Chara kept looking at them, before finally saying “That is not possible, trees cannot grow underground.”

“Yeah they do.”

“I do not believe you.”

“It’s the truth.”

“...No way.”

“Yes way!”

Chara shorted, “Did you really just say ‘Yes way’?”

“Yes, I mean, don’t change the subject.” Asriel whined. Papers on the table forgotten in favor of their argument.

“I can accept the garden outside is possible since there is enough light somehow to see clearly during the day,” They began, toying with a pencil as they spoke, “But trees? Big trees inside of a giant cave? That is just impossible.”

“It is, if you don’t believe me why don’t we just go there and see for yourself?” Chara looked up at him, they didn’t look so relaxed anymore.

“I do-I do not want to.” Asriel felt bad again, they were just having a normal chat, and now they were tense again. They weren’t as bad as when they first woke up, so tense and afraid that they… Mom called it a panic attack and it looked really scary. He didn’t want them to be that scared again, but he also was starting to think that they were scared of too many things and that just avoiding it wasn’t the best way help. Maybe-

“Well, you won’t know for real if you don’t see for yourself, right?” He tried, speaking softly and looking them in the eyes. They never really looked at them in the eyes the first day, and after that he noticed them staring when they though the family wasn’t looking. Their eyes were to the side, he was about to give up when he heard them whisper “I suppose.”

Okay, the human answered, that was progress, he could work like this. “You know, we can make it like a mini vacation. Go see the woods, buy some snacks and hot coaco and play around before coming home. Staying home all the time gets really boring doesn’t it?” They looked up midway through, did he get through?

“Hot Cocoa as in, Hot Chocolate? Their voice was quiet, tentative, and definitely interested.

“Yeah, warm cups of it after playing in the snow always makes me feel great.” He had lots good memories of Snowdin, his parents taking him there on special days, the town always felt warm despite the snow.

And then, “Snow as well? Now I am certain you are telling tales.” They were grinning, like they find the idea of Snowdin having snow to be funny. Irritating, but a definite improvement.

“That’s why it’s called Snowdin...isn’t it obvious?” They chuckled, then their expression become… not tense but not quite relaxed either. He was about to ask if they were okay when they spoke up again.

“If we went, and if there  _ is  _ snow, can I wear a hooded coat or something?” Chara still didn’t look directly at them, but they did seem to be trying to get a bit closer to his eyes. 

“I think I have one in the closet that might fit you, do you want to go this weekend?” They stayed quiet, then nodded just enough for him to notice.

After that he started writing out his plans for when they went on the formerly puzzle papers, Chara talking quietly about how nice it sounded to be somewhere just for the fun of it. Like it was something they never got to do before.

Chara was kinda like a puzzle themself. There were a ton of little pieces about them that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but most certainly  _ would  _ when put together. Asriel thought a lot of the little pieces of them that didn’t look pretty, little things that bothered his parents too. But at the same time, Chara wasn’t a bad person.

They liked Dad’s garden and Mom’s cooking. They liked his colorful clothes and star patterned everything. They disliked talking about themself, but was happy to listen to him. When they weren’t nervous, he saw their red eyes shined like his own. Chara was a puzzle of a person, but he wanted to see the whole of them. There were so many pieces that the one about them being a human seemed less and less big as more pieces came up. And today, he had all but forgotten it when the day ended.


	7. Red Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They way to Snowdin was not a simple hike, and standing around in a place you can't see well is ill advised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took an unreasonably long time to write and I don't really like how it turned out. This is liable to be re-written later, please point any faults or improvements to make if you notice, I would honestly appreciate that.  
> I do this for you people, you make my day sometimes with comments and kudos.

Chara was aware that the Underground must have been large if the Dreemurr’s claim of it being a kingdom were true, but they weren’t prepared for just how big it evidently was. The caverns that Asriel led them through were huge, wide, open chambers full of a lot more than just rocks and shiny stones. 

And there were a lot of monsters living here too, a lot more than they thought at first. It had barely been an hour and they had already seen just how loose a term “Monster” really was.

The Dreemurrs were only one type of monster, there were tons of others in Waterfall(Who picked these names) alone. There were scaly fishlike monsters walking around with a turtle with a bathtub dome instead of a shell and floating fish people, and they were fairly certain that there were more monsters in the deeper water too. 

The white hoodie that Asriel lent them just barely fit, and probably only did because they were underfed when they fell. But it did fit and having the hood up made them feel a bit less self conscious, even if it was a thin disguise at best. A few passerby had tried to ask about them, but Asriel deflected the questions and said that they needed to be on their way. 

Overall, the walk to Snowdin from Waterfall only felt long because of all the new things Chara had to process on the way. 

After a stretch where it got pretty quiet, the only thing around of note was the steady drop in temperature, Asriel asked “How are doing Chara?”

They gave the question a bit of thought before answering, “I am alright. How much farther?”

“Not much, just past the Sentry Station up ahead.” They looked ahead and did indeed see a wooden station, with a monster in armor right inside. Suddenly they worried about being recognised as a human. Most of the monsters they had already encountered didn’t pay too much attention to them so far, but it would be a Sentry’s  _ job  _ to notice. And while they hadn’t told them outright, Chara had gotten the impression that humanity as a whole wasn’t thought of highly by monsterkind. They couldn’t blame them if since they were trapped under an actual mountain and had no way out, but while the Dreemurrs had been nice to them there was no guarantee others would be nice and they had a good reason to not be nice and Chara was--

“Heya kids.” They failed to notice Asriel and themself reaching the station, and stopped in front with him as the Sentry greeted them. Chara felt themself freeze in place, petrified by fear and hoping beyond reason that they wouldn't be noticed. Asriel’s movements were wholly unencumbered by emotion, and cheerily returned the sentry’s greeting “Howdy! My friend and I are going to Snowdin.” 

The sentry, a kind of green salamander monster, nodded and said “Alright, don’t stay out in the snow too long, your friend don’t look furry enough to last long as you kid.” 

And that was it, Asriel waved them goodbye and led them away from the station without another word. The sentry saw them, but didn’t  _ react  _ to them. It was not something they were used to happening, and they kept expecting them to shout at them from behind. But they walked through the border of Waterfall and Snowdin without any hassle. 

The shock of cold fog kept them from trapping themself in their own head again, the physical sensation grounding them outside themself.

Although “Why is there fog here?” Asriel was only just visible ahead of them, and his blue outfit was the most visible part as his fur blended too well with the fog. 

“‘Cuz… Actually I don’t really know why.” They paused, or Chara almost bumped into him when he stopped moving. “Why is there always fog here?” he asked, more to himself than for a genuine answer. 

Chara looked around, if there was anything to see, it was obscured by the fog. They started to feel unexpectedly exposed, the white jacket no longer feeling like a defense anymore. They felt  their SOUL hum inside them, and the warm sensation of magic trying to find an outlet through them. The temptation to let it almost caught them off guard, they never felt tempted to use magic knowing someone else was right next to them. 

But they felt a wisp of power escaping them from their left eye, and saw a faint flash of red reflected in the fog. 

They thrust the power down with a sharp intake of cold breath. And forced the magic to remain inside them, and struggled to calm the pulsing of their SOUL. 

“Chara?” Asriel’s soft voice got their attention, they snapped their attention on the monster in front of them. His eyes were wide, looking right at them with his mouth slightly opened. They tried to steady their breathing, thankful that it only took a few extra seconds before they could reply “Yes?” 

He took a shaky breath of his own and asked “What was that in your eye?” For the moments after the question, the white world froze. 

He saw, he saw something they never wanted to share, he saw the part of them that had been their greatest curse. And suddenly they were above the mountain again, they were once more surrounded by hateful glares and hurtful words. They were alienated and shunned for things they never had a choice in, and they were once again facing all of that spite and hatred break the quiet and--

“Chara?” They tried to look in front of them, but it was so hard to see beyond the haze of their own eyes. They were somewhat aware that they were not actually in any danger, that the only other person near them was way too nice to hurt them. But that awareness was overshadowed by the irrational part of them that hasn’t forgotten the fear they had endured for most of their lives. 

The magic that they had earlier suppressed surged once more, and this time they couldn’t get enough control to stop themself from releasing the sudden surge as it had before. And they saw the red magic highlighted again by the white fog’s faint reflection. 

“Chara,” They heard him, but were progressively wishing that they were alone, and they could feel the same raw power flooding towards their hand unbidden, their fight-or-flight instincts shifting too close to one direction.

“Chara, can you count to ten?” Wait, what? Can they… count to ten? 

“One... two-” They started counting out loud, slower than they normally would, it took more focus than they usually needed. Their hectic and borderline hysteric thoughts quieted as they worked up to the last number “-ten.”

Asriel quietly said “Great, now can you count backwards from ten?”  _ Why?  _ They were now confused, but they were also no longer on the verge of another breakdown, so complied.

Counting backwards took just as long, but as they started to notice that they could see Asriel in front of them nodding with each number they recited. The red in their vision went from a heavy lens to a barely noticeable fuzz in their peripheral. 

“Okay, how are you feeling now?” He asked them, fiddling nothing in his hands as he waited for them to reply. 

“I-” they had just freaked out and almost lost control of their accursed magic. But they also could feel their shoulders loosen and their breathing easy again. They knew they weren’t really OK, but they also felt much better than just a few seconds ago.

“I am… better.” Asriel’s own shoulder visibly loosened as he smiled. But then his smile faltered and his eyes shifted away as he asked “Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I said something that really _ , really  _ upset you. I don’t really know why, but it really upsets you so I shouldn’t have said it and-” he started to tear up and sniff halfway through that sentence and he was clearly beginning to ramble. Chara felt something in their chest tighten when they saw this.

“Asriel, please calm down.” Their voice cracked when they said please, they felt so badly seeing him so upset because of them…

Or is this what he felt just a few minutes ago?

Thankfully, he nodded and took a deep breath without further prompting. He took a few more deep breaths before talking again, “I am still sorry, do you want to go back?”

He sounded disheartened, but they also knew that going back was most certainly the best option. They still felt shaky and at that moment, curling into the big quilt on the Dreemurrs couch sounded very appealing. They were about to nod, but hesitated.

Both of them had been excited by this trip. Asriel made his fondness for Snowdin no secret and had rambled on about all the things he loved about it. Chara couldn’t lie to themself and claim that they did not also want to play games and explore and drink hot chocolate, and do all of that with Asriel as well. Going back to the house would be easy, but it would also be a disappointment for both of them.

They could go back, Asriel wouldn’t stop them if they wanted to. But they could also choose not to, and they knew Asriel wouldn’t override them.

“No, we can go back later. I want to see Snowdin.” Asriel look at them, surprise in his expression. For a while they both just stood there, looking at each other in a world of white and cold.

Chara got impatient with all the standing though. “We are not going anywhere standing here you know.”

Asriel nodded sniffing one more time before affirming “Right, let’s go.” He turned around- and then looked around. He turned to them and tried to look around again.

“You can not see where to go anymore, can you?”

Asriel sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and admitted  “No, I kinda got disoriented. I just need to see the path, maybe I can-” He made one of his magic stars, and it shined so bright that the fog’s reflection blinded them for a second. It must have done the same to Asiel as it dissipated immediately and he rubbed his eyes.

“No, not like that.” 

They were evidently stuck in the middle of a road unless they could see past the blasted fog. Asriel had mentioned earlier that it was always around, and was way to reflective of his magic. Chara was really getting sick of the fog by that point, so much so that an idea that they would have earlier tried to block from their mind seemed much less upsetting the longer they stood around only able to see the monster in front of them try to figure a way out.

Chara’s stomach still churned at the thought of it, but they slowly started to rationalize why that fear was wrong.  _ The sight of white fire spiraling in the air.  _ They were with a person who had no reason to be upset by it. That same person was so kind and compassionate they couldn’t really imagine him being angry about it. Monsters were just so much nicer by  _ default  _ when compared to all the humans they ever knew.

Monsters weren’t like humans, at all.

They reached into their SOUL, feeling the incredible strength and power and letting it flow through them.  _ Knowing that a cute goat boy liked to play with snow. _

“I will try something.” Asriel turned back to the and tilted his head to the side, a universal motion for  _ what? _

They raised their hand in front of them, and looked into their empty palm. Chara steeled themself and they drew their magic and let it manifest as a ball of red, low light emanating from it as tendrils of stray power wisped abound it.

The accursed fog around them also took on the crimson glow, reflecting what was not dissipated. Chara forced their eyes upwards to look at Ariel, his own eyes fixated on the red ball in their hand. They waited for a response, SOUL pounding and muscles tight as the seconds ticked on.

Finally,  **finally** he looked up at their face. Then told the “I’ve never seen it red before.”

They didn’t quite know why, but when he said that, they felt as though a great weight had been lifted from them. 

He looked around the red hued fog, and got excited.

“Oh, I know where to go now! Come on, let’s go.”

_ Having someone to trust fills you with DETERMINATION. _


	8. Baking with Fire Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toriel wants to bake something different. That's all she wants to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this was meant to be fluff, a nice little breather since last time was so heavy. I don't know where the fluff went.  
> And I actually have a tough time writing in a character's flaws? It's like I want them to take the best, or more accurately, the functionally right solutions, and then remind myself that characters making mistakes is how things like a good story happen. I find it kinda hard to write though.  
> Feel free to leave any and all comments below. I love reading them.

After her patrol through Waterfall and reviewing the other Guardsmen's activities of late, Toriel had the rest of the day to herself. If anything came up she had to address it ASAP, but otherwise her time was hers.

And today, she felt like baking.

Contrary to what some people seemed to think, she could and did bake more than just pie. She just enjoyed making pie more than any other food, it was both relaxing and familiar. But she wanted to try a new recipe she found in one of the cookbooks from the surface that made its way underground.

Armor off and apron on, she gathered the ingredients and began. The recipe itself wasn’t too far off from things she’s made before, but it involved a few steps and careful processes in order to make sure the finished product came out properly. But simply mixing the dry and wet ingredients was still a simple process.

In the middle of mixing she heard the door open behind her and heavy footfalls come inside. Seems Asgore came home early today. 

“Welcome home Gorey~” She turned and smiled at her husband, still wearing his lab coat and safety glasses.

“Hi Tori, what are you making?” He looks over her shoulder at the wet mixing bowl. “A cake?”

She rolled her shoulder and clarified “A  _ rolled _ cake actually, I found a recipe for it a while back and it looked interesting. I have just been a bit… preoccupied as of late.”

Asgore stayed quiet and stepped away, she kept her eyes locked onto her mixing bowl even when her thoughts wandered to their human house guest. She wondered if they would like the cake, or what their preferences in general were. I had been over two weeks since they fell and they were still an enigma. There were very few things she knew about them for certain.

They were ten years old, just a few months older than Asriel. They disliked being touched or hovered over. And were too thin for their age. Beyond those details everything else had been guesswork from her. Why were they so timid? Was it because they were unfamiliar with monsters or was it a fear of people? Why were they so thin? And what happened to the before she found them with…

“Tori? Are you ok?” Asgore was beside her, his hand resting lightly on her immobile arm. She hadn’t realized until then that she was crying. She wiped her eyes and looked at her husband, the expression of concern on his face making her heart ache.

“I’m sorry, I did not realize I was making myself upset.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Did she? Talking would more than likely make her feel much better about all the little things about Chara she had noticed that made her maternal instincts want to do something despite the child’s anxieties. But it almost felt like doing so would be going behind their back, discussing things about them that might not have any actual weight or jumping the gun. 

So instead she said “I want to make this cake.” She began to pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir. Asgore didn’t say anything else as she did, she heard him walk to the table and sit down. He must be doing paperwork and wanted to keep an eye on her. She didn’t like being watched, even by her own husband, but this time she remained focused on the now smooth batter.

Double check the recipe, pour the batter in a shallow pan, slide into the oven. Before she closed the oven door, she added a magic flame to the interior, concentrated and stable enough that it would maintain the heat at just the right intensity until the cake is well and truly done.  The oven had a working heat coil, but fire magic just felt right.

She looked back at Asgore, who clearly diverted his eyes from her to the papers in front of him when she did. He didn’t even notice he was holding his pencil eraser down until he started pretending he was writing the whole time. 

She sighed, he was probably hoping she would change her mind and talk to him to kill the time until the cake was done. He would keep sitting there until she came to him. But she already told him she didn’t want to, she was going to make this cake and nothing more.

Just like Asgore to tiptoe around what bothers… anyone really. She loved him, she really did. But little things like this bothered her. She made her intentions clear and he still behaves as though she’ll change her mind, it irked her.

She didn’t go to the table, she pulled out the ingredients for the frosting filling and set to work. She’s made up her mind and she wasn’t going to change it for anyone. She was worried, and she would figure out what to do. But she’ll do it on her time and her way. She wouldn’t compromise her decisions for anyone.

She wanted to make a rolled cake, so that is what she’s doing.


	9. Bonding Activities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun in Snowdin at last. Chara's doing pretty well considering panic attacks tend to be massively draining. And Asriel likes old movies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done! Found the fluff I lost last chapter, I think I prefer actually writing angst. Heads up to my readers, I'm thinking of starting a new fic for a completely different fandom. I cannot write two fics at once with different update scheduled, but I am going to stick to my Monday updates rule. So if Finding doesn't get updated next week, I'm probably posting my other fic.  
> If anyone wants to read a fic based off that time I completely rewrote the plot of Sword Art Online season 1 and got the idea for the Alfheim sequel, feel free to look if this one isn't updated by next Monday afternoon.

Asriel spent a lot of time dragging Chara all around Snowdin, and Chara spent most of it smiling. They smiled when they saw all the snow on the ground, when they saw what the Snowdin folks built with the snow, and when they fell backwards on some snow and made what they called a “Snow Angel.”

Asriel liked seeing Chara smile, they usually seemed so nervous and anxious that they usually wore a frown, it made them look old. But now they looked wide eyes and exited, they looked like a kid.

And they were acting like one too.

They never ended up going to the woods proper, Chara was already taking in the sights of the colorful little town as Asriel happily told them about every little thing he knew. They spent half the day just walking and talking, and occasionally playing in the snow. But after a while, he noticed Chara was starting to shake.

“Are you okay Chara?” They were still smiling, but they also tilted their head. A gesture they said meant that they were confused.

“Yes, I am doing fine. Why do you ask?”

“You’re shaking.” They looked down at their hands, which were shaking as quickly as the rest of them. But they looked like they only just noticed.

“Oh, I must be colder than I thought. We should probably go inside soon.” They huffed on their hands and rubbed them together. It was only then that Asriel remembered Chara had no fur, they must be doing that to keep warm.

“Right, how ‘bout we go to shop then?” They nodded, and followed him into the cozy building near the edge of town proudly labeled “Shop.”

A little bell sang when they came inside, and Asriel heard the human behind him let out a content sigh. The shopkeeper behind the warm wood counter leaned forward and greeted the duo, “Hey, ‘yall. That you Rei? Welcome back.” Her youngest peeked their over the counter and tried to wave at him, just barely able to see over the counter and most certainly using the stepladder.

Asriel chuckled and waved back, then to the shopkeeper replied “Glad to be back, you have anything special today?” He knew that Ms. Lop had friends that let her pick out stuff they found in the Dump from time to time, and her sister liked to make some of the stuff they got even better than if it was new. 

She smiled at him, “Bigg’a stuff’s in the back, like, usual. But I got a few new trinkets on the shelf ‘yall might fancy.” She looked over him and perked her smile up a bit more. “Oh, I ain’t seen you before sugar. What you called?”

Chara’s smiled dimmed, but it didn’t vanish entirely. They took a deep breath and slowly said, “I am called Chara. It is nice to meet you.” Ms. Lop didn’t bat an eye. “No need to be so formal sugar. It’s nice to see a fresh face ‘round here.” 

Chara merely nodded in response, but said nothing more. Asriel was glad Ms. Lop didn’t push it further, although the younger bun was struggling to climb onto the counter at the time and may have almost slipped if she boosted them up. 

Asriel gestured Chara further into the shop, specifically leading them towards a large section of the wall covered in shelves holding a collection of wares that ranged from little handmade toys to restored human products. He loved rooting around the many shelve to see if there’s anything he couldn’t help but want for himself. It’s been a while, so a lot of the stuff on the shelves are new to him. 

He saw a couple plastic toys, some well preserved VHS tapes labeled with movie names or “Blank.” There were vases and DVDs sharing space with human made lamps with monster made alterations. It was a little bit of anything, and all with a personal touch added compliments due to the Bunny Clan. 

Asriel turned to Chara, who was looking at the wares with polite attention, but their eyes never really settled on anything for longer than a few seconds. Well there were a lot of shelves, maybe they’ll find something on their own. So he went back to looking for himself. It would be cool to get a new VHS, he liked the human movies a lot, they were so cool looking and had awesome stories that all unfolded in under 2 hours each. And today there was a lot of  tapes to look through.

He was ended up picking one from the back when he noticed Chara’s attention was on a rack of clothes instead of all the cool stuff on the shelf, absently rubbing their fingers on the sleeve of a green jacket. 

“You like that jacket Chara?” They jolted withdrew their hand, like they hadn’t realized they were doing it until then. “I suppose.” They yawned, and Asriel noticed their eyes were half closed even when they focused back on him. He looked up at the clock on the wall, it had been almost two hours since they left they house. 

He usually would want to stay longer, but Chara was clearly much more tired than he was. And if they left soon…

“Let’s grab our hot chocolate and head home. I think I can show you one more thing on the way back if we hurry.” Tired as they were, Chara still brightened up at the very mention of the chocolate. Ms. Lop had been listening, she had that habit when business was slow like that day. And Asriel had scarcely fished out the 10 G for tape when two paper cups full of steaming, brown, and rich smelling liquid.

He set the G on the counter, and tried to fish out more for the drinks when she said “On the house sugar. Ya’ll just run on home ‘fore the ferry leaves. Tell your folks I said ‘Hi’ k’?” Asriel fumbled a bit, noticing out of the corner of his vision Chara looking flabbergasted, it looked funny. He didn’t try to argue, Ms. Lop winning far more arguments than she lost in his experience. So he just took the cups and said “All right, I will.Thank you!”

Chara followed him out, still looking confused through their weariness. He led them north to the river when they asked “Why would she do that?”

“Hm?” 

“The woman from the shop. Why would she give us anything for free?” They asked like she had done something particularly bizarre.

“I dunno, I remember one time she let Mom have a nice dress for half the price. Mom said she wouldn't have bought the dress if she hadn’t, I think it was too much G otherwise.” He thought on it more, then continued “I guess she just likes making people happy when they leave, I know I am.” 

They reached the pier where Riverperson was still docked, the cloaked figure hollow face looking to them as he helped the human on the boat. Chara didn’t stare, impressive since most people did stare their first time. 

“To the Waterfall I presume?” Their odd, echoed voice asked. Asriel just nodded, and handed Chara their chocolate. They boat glided down the river without another word, two children sipping chocolate, Chara smiling blithely through their exhaustion.

They ride was peaceful, so much so that the Riverperson’s odd riddle echoed unsettlingly across the cavern walls when they spoke again.

“Tra la la, Fall in fear. Fall in terror. Fall to love. We all may fall if hate stays whole.”


	10. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Restless nights are never pleasant, and Chara's left with their own less than healthy thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is shorter than usual and more exposition than content, but I was tired and couldn't focus well.
> 
> Also I am going to take a brief break from this fic, only about two weeks or so. I'll come back with the next chapter on either Dec 31 or Jan 7. I just need to take some time to myself and not worry about Monday updates. See you guys by New Year.

It was late, but Chara was not asleep. The forgotten impressions left by a recent nightmare kept them from trying to fall asleep a second time. So for a long while, the young human remained on the couch wrapped snugly in they cozy quilt.  


They were warm, well fed from Toriel’s cooking, and completely healed from their injuries. Yet they couldn’t shake the unpleasant weight in their chest they had ever since they got here. Everything that had happened since they fell has been good, the Dreemurrs were all kind and had done so much for them. And after a month under their care they weren’t ignorant about the monsters own hardships. No one had explicitly told them about the war or the barrier, but a few loose comments and a monster history book within reach made learning about is a simple task.  


And what they had read from that heavy book did much more than inform them, it made them all the more certain on the subject of humanity. Monsters were the ones who wrote the book, but there was enough in the way of details that convinced Chara of the injustice of their situation. War was senseless, and the suffering was absolute. If the war was truly about monsters wanting to become powerful from human SOULs, it would have happened. If any monster truly wanted to absorb the Soul of a dead human, then at least one would have been certain to have that chance during the war.  


But it never happened, not a single SOUL was taken. And in the end, all of them were imprisoned for eternity.  


And then was the detail that had truly hurt the most. The barrier was magic, made by humans. Toriel had even told them that it had been common enough to have a word, mage. It had been normal in the past, accepted and respected. But the humans they had known in the world above had not been accepting, had not spoke of magic with anything resembling respect. Their own powers had scared them, and the reaction when the others found out…  


(First it was still, then the eyes on the hardened, and the shouting and the rocks and the hatehateHATE)  


The monster family that had took them in were the kindest people they had ever known, more generous and loving that they thought anyone could act.  


Their fellow humans had been the bad guys, and they hated them for it. But they were one of them.  


And Chara hated themself more than ever.


	11. (but) Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up in the middle of the night isn't unusual for Asgore, but having company on a restless night is something new. But he has hot tea and is happy to share the quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back. This took way to long to write and I'm just happy to have it done. I'm hoping to have the main story wrapped up soon and possibly have a few shorts added later, but for now let's see how Asgore handles his late night company.

Asgore had never been a heavy sleeper. One would assume that a person as large as him would sleep like a log, but he occasionally woke randomly in the night and know that just closing his eyes again won’t work. Fortunately, their bed was open on both sides so that he didn’t disturb Toriel on nights like this. So he slid out and carefully walked out of the bedroom, Toriel stirred slightly, but she remained relaxed in bed.

The hallway was dim, but still had enough light to maneuver if he was careful. He could spend an hour or two at the kitchen table, sipping tea and looking over his lab notes. It wouldn't be the first time he had done so on restless nights, at least it was quiet and he could hopefully tire himself out and go back to sleep before morning. It was routine to quietly pad through the hall, pause at Asriel’s door and make sure it was quiet across the closed door, then go down and heat a pot of tea with fire magic.

The only change Asgore though he had to make was to remain careful passing the living room where Chara was sleeping and keep the light in the kitchen low so they would stay asleep. But halfway down the stairs he could sense something wrong. His eyes adjusted to the soft light below him and saw the way Chara was lying on the couch. On the occasional mornings where he and Toriel woke up before them, their body was spread out, sometimes hanging halfway to the floor. But right now, they were curled into themself, legs and arms folded in and head following. It looked, uncomfortable and tense. He was pretty sure they were not asleep either.

He intentionally made the step below him groan under his weight, and he did not miss the way they flinched. ‘ _ Oh dear’  _ It seems that he wasn’t the only one who suffered from sleepless nights. 

Still quiet, but now not trying to obscure his footsteps as much, Asgore approached the curled up child. 

“Are you awake Chara?” He softly called, still half hoping they were truly still asleep.

But he had enough years of unpleasant experiences to know better.

They remained still for a long while, but just before Asgore considered asking again they slowly turned their rigid form to look in his general direction. Whether or not Chara made eye contact was debatable, he was honestly used to them avoiding direct eye contact. That wasn’t what was important, it was midnight and he doubted he had been what woke them up.

“You having a hard time sleeping tonight too?” They didn’t answer for a while, but Asgore knew not to rush. Eventually he saw them make a vague shrug,  he saw them move anyway.

“It’s alright, I have trouble sleeping sometimes myself. Tonight being a convenient example.” He said lightly, hoping a bit of humor would help them relax some.

“Would you like share some tea perhaps, I was just about to make myself a cup. It helps me relax.” This time, Chara seemed to consider his offer. The they slowly curled themselves and sat upright. They were still stiff and eyes downcast, but still nodded.

He returned the nod and they both made there way to the kitchen, he only turned on the light above the stove, not wanting to strain either his or Chara’s eyes with sudden fluorescent. The human took a seat at the counter while he made the tea, even fire magic could only heat water so fast. He took out two tins of his own tea blends, a hobby he picked up over the years after he managed to cultivate tea for the Underground to grow. He showed Chara the two tins, and when he knew they were puzzled he asked “Which one would you like, this one is a lavender blend and this one is chamomile.” 

They considered for a few moments before pointing to the chamomile tin. He nodded again and went to make their cups. Tea steeped and steaming from a pair of teacups, he gave Chara the floral patterned cup. The two of them sat in silence for a while, Chara alternating between staring into their tea and glancing at him.

Asgore was hesitant to break the quiet, fearing that an outright confrontation would scare them into that walled off distance they had established not long after arriving. There were a hundred little things that Asgore had noticed about them that he knew Tori had noticed as well. A hundred details that painted a dark picture about this child’s past that he wanted so badly to know. But he couldn’t force them to talk, but he also couldn’t let them suffer alone.

“I used to wake up from nightmares, years ago.” He started, sipping at his tea. Chara was looking his way now.

“Life hasn’t always been this nice, for me at least getting past the hard period seemed like an endless trial.” He remembered those days, not long after the war and their banishment, when he could scarcely sleep for both fear of nightmares and long days spent trying to keep everyone's HoPe up. The nightmares never really went away, and for years he was convinced that he would never sleep soundly through the night again.

He had Chara’s attention, he continued “I still wake up at night, sometimes seemingly for no real reason, I can’t really remember what I was dreaming about earlier. Good or bad, I’m awake.” He sipped his tea, letting the mellow sweetness settle in his mouth before swallowing, the taste lingering when he asked “Were you having a nightmare, before I came down?”

Their eyes widened, then they looked at their tea as though they were trying to divine the future from its surface. Chara mumbled their answer so quietly he strained to hear it “It may have been, I cannot remember.”

“Do you often wake up like this?” 

They shrugged, although Asgore suspected that they did. When they had arrived they had been grievously injured, covered in more swollen bruises and broken skin than a child as old as them should ever suffer from. He would have been more concerned if they weren’t disturbed by whatever happened to them, whatever the specifics that left the so close to the edge.

“You know, I have found that talking to someone about things that bother them can make you feel better.” He sipped his tea, draining the cup. “And it’s also fine if you just want to sit and drink some tea with someone too.”

Asgore refilled his cup, then Chara’s once they drained their own in one gulp. For a long while, neither said anything else. Asore simply nursed his tea and enjoy being next to Chara on a restless night, appreciating for himself not being alone. The ambient light from above the under used stove and the warmth seeping inside him, it was nice just to enjoy the moment as it was. 

“Why are you nice to me?” 

“Hm?” 

“Why are you all so nice to me?” They repeat, face intentionally obscured by their bangs. “You do not need to be so kind, I do not  _ deserve  _ it.”

“I-” That was something Asgore never though he would hear, and it chilled him to the core.

“I do not understand. You should hate me, I am  _ human.”  _ They hissed that last word as though it disgusted them. Despite the simple fact that they were human themself. “I know that you are all trapped here, you are trapped down here despite being so kind and Good. It is unfair.”

Chara’s voice trembled, Asgore felt his throat tighten the more they spoke. They gave a broken, bitter chuckle “I have fallen, yet this place seems more a heaven than a hell. And I cannot understand why.”

Had he been standing, Asgore’s knees would have buckled. Right in front of him was such a hurt, confused, and most likely traumatized child telling him that they didn’t understand why they his family was showing them kindness. He didn’t know their history or where they got such twisted ideas, but he had to help them now.

“Chara, enough.” It was an immense effort to keep his own voice steady. Thank the Angel that they listened and froze. “Please understand when I tell you this, you have done nothing to make us believe that you aren’t just as deserving of love and kindness as any other person. You don’t deserve any ill will, none.” and lastly, for he felt inside his very SOUL that this needed to be said “And that feeling that tells you you don’t deserve it is wrong.”

Chara looked at him, and he could see tears streaming down their flushed cheeks. He held strong, “Remember this, if nothing else. You deserve to be cared for.” 

It was a bit of a blur after that, Chara got up and pretty much buried themself in is arms. He kept them firmly in his embrace as they muffled sobs against his stomach. But the next morning, Toriel found them both asleep on the couch.


	12. What Do You Want?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara and Asriel look for something to play with, and Chara finds something they find interesting. Asriel is glad they're having fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure why, but any attempt to write some cute family fluff ends with something dramatic to forward the plot in some way. Please leave some comments and kudos, I love hearing from you guys.

After FIGHT practice, Chara asked if he wanted to play something. They hadn’t openly asked him to play before, just kinda taggged along when he made a suggestion. So Asriel all but beamed when he heard Chara ask that. “Yeah, what do you wanna play?” After several seconds of silence he suggested they look through his toy chest for games.

He was trying to fish out an unlabeled box from the bottom, he barely noticed Chara pulling out a poorly bound sheaf of crumpled papers from the mess. Some glitter flaked off the cover page he thinks he remembered making, but he was just about to get that box free so his focus went there.

Chara waited until the box was freed from it’s stuffy prison before asking him what the papers where. Only when he looked at the over glittery cover page did the memories come rushing back. 

“Oh! My old comic, I remember making this.” He opened to the first page and felt a wave of both nostalgia and embarrassment over the drawing inside. Chara tried to look over his shoulder, but also tried not to come near his shoulder at the same time. Asriel just moved the paper so Chara could see better, even if he felt himself blushing under his fur. 

“It’s an old comic I made when I was seven, it’s kinda dumb really.” It was a poorly drawn page with a background of purple glitter-ink. Framing a figure of his early imagination, he still remembered it was meant to be a more awesome version of him.

“What it that?” They pointed right at it, and he sheepishly replied “That’s the Absolute God of Hyperdeath,” whispering the rest, embarrassed more than he thought he would be, “ _ Asriel Dreemurr.”  _

Their face was blank, but not in that measured aloof way they usually tried to hold, this time they just looked blankly at the drawing. Chara just kept staring as they said “Absolute God of Hyperdeath.” he bit his lip and nodded, then he heard them giggle “What does that even mean?” 

They kept giggling, though they quiet and trying to stop. Asriel didn’t think that he’s heard Chara laugh before, and his embarrassment started to fizzle when he realized he made them laugh.

So he answered “I dunno, I thought it sounded cooler than it was or something.” Chara kept giggling, it sounded nice, coming from them. “It does sound cool.” They pointed to the edge of the page, and he only needed five seconds to turn the page.

The next ten minutes were spent showing Chara, who was for once clearly enjoying themself, his old God of Hyperdeath comic. Every page had some variation of a shiny embellishment, and the story was nonexistent. Each page was a different drawing of ‘him’ with different, equally bad backgrounds with block text in the corner trying to explain why one page had him in a void and the next was in Snowdin. 

He did start to enjoy reading it to Chara, stumbled over the bad spelling and answered them when they asked about things that he wouldn’t have been able to answer if he hadn’t made it. It was fun. By the time they reached the last page, Chara was openly laughing at the particularly ridiculous part. They had a nice laugh. 

The last page was the God of Hyperdeath breaking the barrier. When he explained that, Chara stopped laughing. He looked at them, they looked like they were thinking about something. The sudden change of mood was kind of unsettling. But it was better than back in Snowdin when they looked scared and scary.

They didn’t look scared now, so Asriel considered that an improvement. “What’cha thinking about?” This time, the pause wasn’t long. “What is it exactly, the Barrier?” 

Alright, not that bad a question. “It’s the spell that keep everyone from leaving the mountain, anything can come in, but getting out is a lot harder. And it’s super strong too, Dad says nothing seems to damage it so far.” Chara nodded, their red eyes not leaving the comic page. “It was made by humans though, right?”

“Uhh, that’s right, the history plaques in Waterfall were made not long after it was made. ‘Seven Human Magicians’ made it.” Asriel answered, wondering where this conversation was going. For a moment, he saw Chara’s eyes flash gold.

He blinked, and blinked more when they turned to him and said  “Teach me magic.” One second, two, three, and he kept sitting there dumbstruck. 

“Huh?”

“I have magic.” They said, sitting upright and shoulders squared. They looked ready for a FIGHT. “I want to learn how to use it properly. Please teach me.” 

He remembered, it was certainly a surprise to have see Chara’s eyes glowing red and hesitantly making a red light. Chara could do magic, and they wanted lessons?

“Where, where is this coming from all of the sudden?” he asked. Chara’s hands curled in their lap, eyes lowered. They took a shuddering breath and explained “I want to use my magic to help you. You and your family have been nothing but kind to me, and I want to be able to repay you all in some way.”

Asriel saw their eyes shift back to the open comic again, to the page with the God of Hyperdeath breaking the barrier. He wondered if this was actually a good idea, but…

“I think if this is what you want, Mom and I can help you tomorrow during training.” 

“...You do not think she will mind?” Chara muttered hesitantly.

He gave them a patient smile. “I don’t see why not. She likes teaching.”

After a while, they nodded and moved the comic aside. “What were we doing again?”


	13. Is This Home?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic lessons with Goat Mom and Goat Bro. Learning is fun, and so is positive attention. Chara is a good student, Toriel is the right teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm finally coming around to finishing this up, probably only two more chapters and I can on this narrative. Kinda sad to see it go, but I don't plan on stopping my writings. Time to plan what comes after Care.

Usually when Toriel and Asriel trained with magic, Chara lingered on the sidelines within sight and watched. They used to pretend to be focusing on Asgore’s garden (which was a nice garden), but gave up that pretense a while ago.  


Today, however, they were no longer an outsider looking in. Toriel had readily accepted their request for magic lessons the night before and assured them they weren’t intruding. So now they had Toriel’s undivided attention and were a bit uncomfortable with that fact. But they asked for this so…  


“To begin I need to know how much you already know. So what can you do so far?” Her voice was calm and steady, and she spoke to them with the same tone as when she taught Asriel. They still felt an uncomfortable weight settle in their chest at the thought showing her, but they fought hard to ignore it.  
Lifting both hands, Chara pulled their magic out from inside them. A red aura wrapped around their palms, and they didn’t need to be told their eyes gave off a similar glow as well. Their SOUL pulsed as they waited for her response.  


Toriel smiled at them, then quietly remarked “Red magic, good to know.” Louder this time “You seem to have manifestation and basic control figured out, good start.”  
Chara felt themself let out a heavy sigh, and the pressure in their chest eased.  
The lesson proper started from there. Toriel lectured them on how magic worked as extensions of someone’s SOUL. All monsters could use magic easily because their bodies were made of dust, held together primarily through magic. That’s why even though Toriel and Asriel are the same species of monster, her magic is naturally fire based while his is more star like.  


Humans with magic, “mages” she reminds them, are rare because humans aren’t as attuned to their SOUL’s as monsters. Because humans are mostly made of water and held together physically rather than magically, human magic rarely manifests outside their SOULs.  
The lesson paused for Asriel refusing to believe they were mostly water. “How are you mostly water? You don’t look wet at all!”  


“You do not look dusty, you look furry.” Chara felt themselves grinning, the current situation was quite funny to them. They were becoming quite fond of Asriel, and if his comic reading was any indication, there would be plenty to laugh at in the future.  
When the feeling of Don’t belong-won’t last-isn’t real came back, they had to call back to Asgore’s soft but firm declaration that those feeling weren’t to be heeded. It was thankfully enough as Asriel continued talking.  


“How does water hold together though? Water’s a lot heavier than dust, and what does it even mean to be held together ‘physically’ anyway?” Chara just shrugged, they didn’t know what being held together magically really meant either.  
“Back on topic,” Toriel prodded gently “I was believed that because humans weren’t reliant on magic to live, mages were able to use more powerful abilities overall.” Chara nodded, absorbing everything she said like a sponge. They had to learn this.  


Not long after that, they moved on to actually using magic. Though they were trepidatious at first, Toriel’s gentle guidance had they completing her assigned tasks without full. Simple things, move it outwards, the aura stretched away from their palm. Shape the magic into something, they made a sphere. Shape it into something else, this time an inverted triangle. Try using it to pick up a rock, third time really was the charm.  


Chara felt their cheeks flush when they accomplished another small task using their magic. Each task was small and relatively simple, but each time they succeeded both Toriel and Asriel would praise them for having done it. And the knot of apprehension they held in their chest has dissipated to the point of needing to think about it to notice.  
They succeeded in shaping their magic into a more complex shape, a five petaled flower approximation, when Toriel ended the lesson. “Wonderful work today Chara, I think that’s a good place to end for now.”  
Chara looked towards Toriel, they wanted, needed to learn more. But Asriel spoke up before them “I think mom’s right, you look like you’re getting tired. You haven’t done a lot a practice before now right?”  


It was only then they noticed how heavy their arms felt, and how dry their mouth had gotten. Perhaps Toriel was right, if they collapse in front of them a follow-up lesson would be less likely. Toriel seemed like the cautious type to them.  
Chara nodded, and the three of them went back inside. Asriel and them were treated with triangle sandwiches and what they assume was orange juice, it had an odd aftertaste they could not quite place. While they were eating, Toriel’s phone rang.  
“Who could that be?” She mused under her breath. The phone was an old enough model that it didn’t show caller I.D so her question was valid. She excused to talk to them.  


When she left, Chara started talking “You never seem tired after your lessons with Toriel.”  
He finished his current triangle and replied “Really? I guess we must’ve figured out when to stop before it shows or something. FIGHT practice does tucker me out.” He lifted one of his remaining triangles and resumed “Probably why Mom makes snacks for when we’re done.” He happily stuffed the whole thing in his mouth after that.  


Chara grinned, they enjoyed nearly every moment spent with Asriel. Before they fell, they never really enjoyed being in the company of anyone in particular. Around people who weren't actively hostile or silently judgmental were still less desirable to being alone. But being with Asriel seemed more than just enjoyable, Chara was finding that not being in their company made them like him more.  


(There was not a voice in their head saying that they will regret getting attached, letting their guard down was not a mistake)  


Toriel came back into the kitchen, but her expression was guarded and her earlier lax posture stiffened. “I’m sorry children,” she sighed “I’m afraid I have something to attend to, I’m not sure when I will be back.” She place a kiss on Asriel’s forehead, which he immediately tried to rub off. “There should be leftovers from last night still in the fridge in case I’m not back before dinner.” She was about to walk out the door, then she turned back to the two of them and “I love you.”  


Asriel called back “Love you too.” and for a moment, Chara wanted to do the same.


	14. Those Who Protect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Had to happen sooner or later, but Toriel first priority had been for Chara's well being. Now she had to make sure they would remain safe. Salvation wasn't worth the price of blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took a freaking month to update. I swear I'm going to finish this story properly, I ain't gonna leave you guys hanging. To explain myself I have one thing to claim has been taking up a lot of my headspace lately, Homestuck.  
> You guys think I should do a shipping fic of Homestuck? So many ships, all of them canon.  
> Next chapters the wrap up, lets hope It won't take another month.

Toriel made her way to the castle with squared, stiff shoulders. A few monster she was familiar with greeted her when she passed by, but she didn’t more than wave or nod at them. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk.  


On the outside, New Home Castle looked large and imposing to anyone unfamiliar with the Capital. But only folks from Snowdin or Waterfall didn’t know better. Everyone who went through the castle for one reason or another was so used to it that it was rather unremarkable.  


And she knew that wasn’t by any sort of grand design, King Sans just never bothered to decorate.  


It had been over month since the last time she had seen him, not since Chara had “Fell” as they referred to it. She wondered how much they remembered of back them. She was afraid to ask.  


Still, he had called her. The conversation was tense on both sides, he claimed that he wanted to talk to her. She had a feeling that he wanted to talk specifically about Chara. A topic she did not look forward to discussing with him.  


She reached the upper palace, where King Sans spent most of his time outside the throne room. The eaves and corners held the only distinguishing feature separating the upper palace from any other home, decorative lights that would be all manner of colors if they were on. Whether they stayed dark because of being kept off or because they died off years ago is still up to debate.  


Toriel spent a moment glaring at the front door as though it was the source of her frustration. The she swallowed her hesitation and let herself in. She already had all the permission she needed having been invited, besides she’s the Captain. It wasn’t the first time she had forgone general formality with Sans.  


He was leaning against the stairwell railing right in front of the door, clearly having been waiting. Almost casually he welcomes with, “ ‘sup, thanks for coming.” Almost casually, Toriel has known him for centuries and knew when he was faking.  
But she was willing humor him for a while. “Thank you for the invitation. You had something you wished to talk about?” Humor him, but not tiptoe around the issue entirely.  


If that upset him, he didn’t show it, he simply invited her into the living room “get comfy.”

For the first few minutes, he tried to make small talk that would have been difficult to steer towards the actual topic. How have the guards been, has Asgore prepared the census paperwork, has she tried making that rolled cake thingy, how did it turn out? He tired to make a few puns, a shared interest they had. But she refused to make any of her own, and didn’t laugh either.  


There was a lapse in conversation where neither of them said anything. So she brought up the real reason he called her here. “Their name is Chara.” He gave the skeletal equivalent of a flinch, which included both his eye lights going out briefly. He re-lit them and asked “the uhh, human?” without missing a beat she answered “Yes, the human child.”  


He looked away from her, his bones rigid as still. “uhh, yeah. them”  
“...I want to adopt them.” 

By the time Toriel returned home, it was well past dark. The last several hours had been spent in barely controlled righteous fury hidden under the veil of professionalism. She made her thoughts on taking a child life in the name of ‘Justice’ abundantly clear. Informed him that you intended to continue caring for Chara and that their SOUL would remain with them.  


He told her that that not everyone would agree, that he couldn’t reverse the current plan so far along.  
“one more is all we need.” He didn’t sound particularly animated about the prospect. But she held firm, Chara would not be the last key from their prison. By the time she left, satisfied by a quiet affirmation that ‘far as the records show, they're on indefinite stand by.’ Meaning, if anyone asks, that Chara is part of a classified contingency plan.  
She still hated the implications, but at least they would remain safe.  


The lights were off, everyone else would have gone to bed hours ago. She summoned a small flame in her paw, using it’s white light to navigate from the back door to the living room. Toriel saw Chara’s sleeping from under the heavy quilt (They seemed to favor that one) and padded softly across the hardwood. Despite how quiet she knew she had been, Chara stirred from under the quilt.  


They looked at her, and the alert clarity in their eyes suggest that they had not actually been asleep.  


“You were waiting for me, weren’t you?” They shrugged the quilt off and sat upright, legs crossed, still looking her way. For a time, neither broke the tension that seemed to vibrate the dim space between them.  


Chara broke the silence “May I ask you something?”  


“Of course, what is it?” She padded softly towards the side of the couch, half sitting of the arm while they gathered the courage to ask what Toriel assumed was a difficult question. She couldn’t imagine what else could keep someone lying awake for hours to ask.  


And she was proven right. As their voice broke what they asked their difficult question “Why do you take care of me?”  
She was no less prepared either. “Pardon?”  


“Why, why do you want to take care of me? You treat me as kindly and as thoughtfully as you do with Asriel.” Chara’s breathing became irregular, stopping between words and seemingly gasping on others. “What I do not understand is why. I am not your child.” Their voice outright broke on the last word, and she saw tears streaking down their flushed cheeks.  


Toriel felt her SOUL constrict from the scene in front of her. Chara was baring their fear and confusion before her, that’s never easy to do. So now she had to reassure them, put their anxieties to rest. Assure them that… that. _'I am not your child.' ___  


“May I ask you a question, Chara?”  


They struggled to regain composure, but they were still breathing erratic as they nodded.  


“Would you like to be my child?”  


Their eyes locked onto hers, even though they're still breathing erratically and crying, their bright red eyes stare right into hers.  


“What?” Chara, for all their usual eloquence and carefully chosen words, only barely stammered out the single word of inquiry.  
“I’m asking, if you would like to join this family.” Toriel spoke slowly, wanting the to have time to process and understand everything she will tell them. “We do care about you, and I for one would be delighted to have you as my second child.” She dared to sit besides them on the couch proper. Chara tucked themself into the corner of the other side, arms pressed hard against the cushions below them.  


“I know that this is a lot. I know you have gone through a lot already. But I sincerely mean it when I say I care for you.” She hoped to the Angel that they could hear the conviction in her voice, see the affection in her eyes. She prayed that they would understand.  
“... _why _?” Another broken syllabant of confusion, one so soft and hesitantly low that she would have missed it entirely had she not been listening for something of the like.__  


She didn’t even think, the first thing she said was, “I know you like chocolate.” Their expression went from overwhelming anguish to distressed confusion. She pressed on.  


“I know you like Asgore’s garden, and Asriel’s drawings. I see you gravitate more towards green clothes when you can, and how you try to hide your eyes when you are nervous.” She had noticed many other small things about them as well. The way they flinched at loud noises, stayed quiet until prompted to speak, seemed so eager to please, so scared to disappoint. “I know that there are things you wish to do, and something you with to become. And I would love to be there for you as you grow.”  
Chara’s breathing was no longer heavy and inconsistent, they looked at her with eyes bright not just with tears, but the smallest spark of hope. She wondered if they noticed that they were still crying. Slowly, taking care to telegraph that they could stop her at any point, she brushed the moistness from their cheeks.

______“You don’t need to answer if you are unsure,” she whispered in a hushed voice, the only true sound to be heard “whenever you are ready I will listen.” Toriel told herself to wait, that she couldn’t extract such a major decision out of them right that second. Patience was a virtue to uphold, she could wait.  


Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy, the events of the past day were starting to catch up to her. “We should both go to sleep, it is far past time for both of us.” She stood up, noticing the quilt had fallen to the floor at some point. She handed it to Chara, who slowly returned to a position for sleep, letting her drape the quilt over them. And didn’t flinch when she tucked them in.  


She was in the stairwell when she heard them mumble something, possibly thinking that she was out of earshot. She decided to not to correct that in the morning.  
_“I think I would like that.” ___


	15. New File

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New beggining's abound, there is no going back and no one really wants to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done it! I made an ending! I finished a Fic! there will no longer be a question mark next to the fic size! I don't care how minor that seems, It's an accomplishment.  
> Thank you to all the peeps who leave comments and Kudos, I cannot stress enough how much I love you people. Now I can move onto a new project without leaving you guys hanging for two months(Sorry 'bout that. Depression's a B*tch).  
> I may come back later with something new, but for now. Woohoo finished!

Time passed, and Asriel walked with Chara to their first day of school together. The two of them took the ferry from Waterfall and walked from the pier to the school themselves. Chara was wearing their new jacket Mom got them, hands tucked and hood up. He had been to the Snowdin School before, but not as a student, just from playing around town. His experience with day one of a school year was one of nervous worry and subdued excitement. Usually fizzling out before the halfway point for a lack of actual lessons. But the thought of being Chara’s guide through monster school made him hope it wouldn’t be that dull, he wasn’t sure why he felt that though. 

Apparently, Chara didn’t have a lot of experience with school in general, and human schools are apparently pretty different from what he’s experienced. For some reason, human schools don’t usually teach kids to speak in hands unless they can’t hear, seems silly, if the other kids can’t speak in hands than how are they suppose to actually talk to anyone? Mom and Dad gave Chara a crash course after learning that. They weren’t fluent but they didn’t know any signs a week ago so he guessed it just took awhile. 

Chara stuck so close to him on the walk that they were just shy of clinging to his side. It was a bit irritating, but also a bit reassuring, he always felt nervous too so it was nice to kinda share it with his sibling. 

It was also nice to have a sibling, he may have cried happy tears when their parents formally adopted them. And got so energetic that when they agreed to share his bed until they got their own he barely even slept the first night. They both got to their classroom and were early enough to pick their own seats, and sat in the middle by each other. Chara kept their hood up, Asriel had a feeling it wouldn’t come down for a while. Another student nervously came up and tried talking to them, one of the Snowdrake kids. Apparently, Chara and Snowy both like puns. 

“Ice to meet you. Are you, uh, having an ice day?” 

A few moments of silence. 

“That is one way to break the ice.” 

And they started going back and forth with ice and snow puns, all the way to the first bell. He only half listened to them because of that, he kinda hated puns. But Chara seemed to relax the longer they traded wordplay with the other monster, relaxed enough to smile a bit even. 

When Snowy left to take his own seat, he waved him off with Chara, maybe he’d talk to to him more later. The teacher started class introductions, everyone said their name, pronouns(weird for humans???), and something about themselves. Chara gave all the classmates before them full, almost intense attention. He could almost see red wisps of magic come from their eye when one of them said their pronouns were they/them. 

His own turn came, he sat up and glanced at Chara before giving his introduction. 

“My name is Asriel Dreemurr, he/him. And I recently gained a new family member.” Out of the corner of his eye, Chara gave a short jolt and their normally flushed cheeks brighten. He met their stare and gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile. Trying to relay without words that they were okay, that everything was going to be fine, that he was going to be here for them. 

That he liked being their brother. 

The teacher called their name, they took a long, deep breath as they sat straight as a rod and announced; 

“I am Chara Dreemmur, they/them. And I am his new family member.” 

{ _The promise of a new beginning fills you with Determination. Save? Y/N. File 1: Chara Saved _}__


End file.
